Silverware basket for dishwasher



May 11, 1965 H. GELLER 3,182,354

I SILVERWARE BASKET FOR DISHWASHER Filed Aug. 23, 1962 2 She ets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. HARRY GEM-ER HIS ATTORNEY May 11, 1965 G UUHULU UF LUUW QUUUW 2. UUUw @UUUW a QUUUW 2 .HEUUUW 7 11m QUEEN HUM U U F'IGB UUUUUUUUUUUS :uuuuuuuuuuu United States Patent 3,182,854 SILVERWARE BASKET FOR DISHWASHER Harry Geller, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 218,926 Claims. (Cl. 22083) This invention relates to silverware baskets for dishwashing machines.

It is an object of my invention to provide a silverware basket for dishwashers wherein the basket is suitably formed so as to preclude both nesting of the individual silverware pieces, and sliding of them along the basket bottom so that they depart from a desired substantially vertical position.

In one aspect of my invention I provide a silverware basket with a substantially flat open framework base which, together with side walls extending upwardly from the base, defines a space for silverware. A plurality of short projections are secured to the base extending upwardly therefrom. These projections are closely spaced from each other and thereby prevent nesting and sliding of silverware when it is placed in the basket. Preferably, these projections are in the form of equally spaced spikes whose height is about one-quarter inch to one inch, and which are spaced about one-eighth to a half inch apart. Where the base is a molded part, it may be formed with the projections formed therein directly in the mold.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, with some of the parts broken away to illustrate details, of a dishwasher incorporating my improved silverware basket;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of my improved silverware basket;

FIGURE 3 is a view along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the positioning and relationship of the projections provided on the base of the silverware basket.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a portable type automatic dishwasher 1. The dishwasher has a dish washing compartment 2 formed by a tub 3 with a top opening 4 adapted to be closed by a cover 5 hingedly mounted by an assembly 6 at the rear of the machine. The bottom of the tub, as shown in FIGURE 1, may have a substantially downwardly sloped'portion 7 forming a sump at the center thereof. The hub 3 may have side walls which continue down almost to the base or floor on which the machine rests so as to form an enclosure or cabinet for the machine. Also, these walls may support casters 8 in any conventional manner so as to make the machine movable as is well known in connection with portable dishwashers.

Within compartment 2 there may be provided a number of dish supporting members such as an upper rack 9 and a lower rack 10 which are designed so as to support dishes and other eating and cooking articles. Dishwasher 1 incorporates suitable washing means which, in this case, is embodied in a rotatable water ejecting member 11 positioned below rack 10, together with a telescoping member 12 positioned at the center of member 11. When under pressure, member 12 rises somewhat and is provided with apertures in its top so as to eject water with substantial force against dishes in the upper rack 9 at the same time that member 11 is ejecting water against the dishes in both racks.

Arm 11 and telescoping member 12 form a part of assembly 13 which further includes a motor 14. Motor 14 may, for instance, operate a pumping assembly 15 which receives its water through an inlet 16 at the very bottom of the sump. The motor maybe of the type which, when rotated in one direction, causes the pump- "Ice ing assembly to force liquid up through members 11 and 12 and which when reversed causes the pumping assembly to pass the liquid out through a conduit (not shown) to drain.

It will be understood that with such a structure a complete dishwashing operation may readily be provided by means of a conventional sequence control assembly (not shown). Such a control assembly controls, in suitable sequence and for an appropriate number of cycles, the entry of water and Washing materials, the spraying of the dishes, and the removal of the water. In addition, for drying the dishes after they have been cleansed, a siutable electric heating element 17 may be provided in the conventionaltmanner. Element 17 will also normally be under the control of the sequence control assembly so as to be energized at the end of the washing operation, and during the washing operation if so desired to assist in heating water.

It will be understood that all the components described thus far are conventional, and are provided in dishwashers widely available for purchase by the public.

Supported in part by the front wall 18 of tub 3 and in part by the rack 9 is a silverware basket 19 which forms the invention in the present case, and which is more fully shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. Basket 19 may be provided with a flange 20 having an opening 21 therethrough for support on the front wall 18 of the tub, as shown in FIGURE 2, and with side flanges 22 (FIGURE 3) for support on adjacent parts of the rack 9.

The basket has a fiat base 23 and, at each corner, leg members 24 so that the silverware basket 19 may be supported on a table or any other appropriate surface during loading. Base 23 has an open framework construction. This may readily be achieved by molding the base as a lattice work of connected squares, as can readily be seen by reference to FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 together.

The basket has side walls 25 which are also preferably,

although not necessarily, provided with an open frame work construction similar to that of the base. It will be understood that this type of arrangement allows ready passage of large quantities of water through the open framework so as to permit washing of the silverware placed in the basket when the dishwashing operation is being carried on in the machine 1.

The walls 25 and base 23 form a space within which the silverware is received. This space may be subdivided by suitable divider members, such as those shown at 26, which extend across the basket between opposing walls and subdivide the basket into a number of compartments which are of suitable size for causing the silverware to be retained therein in a position which is primarily vertical.

One difliculty which has been encountered with silverware baskets in dishwashers is that similar articles of silverware such as, for instance, spoons, have a tendency to nest within each other when they are dropped in adjacent to each other, and consequently there are surfaces of such silverware pieces which are not properly washed because the water and detergent solution cannot enter between the nested members.

Another difiiculty is that there is a tendency, when the first articles of silverware are inserted into a basket, for the article to slide on the base so that it eventually extends at an angle substantially removed from the vertical, across one of the compartments formed by the dividers 26. When this happens, the article takes up a great deal more room and impedes the proper introduction of additional pieces unless the operator repositions the offending article.

I propose to solve both of these difiiculties by providing on the base 23 of my silverware basket a substantial number of upwardly extending projections 27. These preferabl-yrare in the form of tapered spikes, as shown; any

silverware article being introduced will tend to slide past the relatively pointed slender top of the projection until it seats on the base of the basket. As shown in FIG- URES 2, -3 .and 4,.projections 27 extend substantially over the entire base 23. Their positioning relative to each other is such that they are sufiiciently close to eliminate substantially the tendency of like articles to nest within each other by causing them to be separated as they move downwardly toward a position of rest on the base 23. Also, there is positive prevention of any sliding motion' of articles since the projections 27 extend in all di rections and prevent any'such movement of the silverware.

I have found that with the preferred structure in which the projections 27 are equally spaced from each other in both the length and the width of the silverware basket, the optimumspike dimensions for the results to be achieved are a height between a quarter-inch and an inch, and spacing between spikes of an eight-inch to a half inch. Of course, it will be understood that the height and spacing of the projections 27 must be appropriately related. Thus, for instance, spikes one inch high could not be spaced an eighth of an inchapart or they would positively prevent articles from being seated on the base 23 as desired. However, where the height of the spikes is-only a quarter inch, an eighth of an inch apart may be entirely appropriate. The main point is to cause the height and the spacing of the spikes to be such that the'nesting effect is substantially eliminated and'the sliding of silverware pieces is precluded.

In a preferred structure, the silverware basket may be entirely formed by a molding operation. In this case, the projections 2'7 may be molded into the base in the same single molding operation, so that there is no additional time taken in the manufacture of the basket.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I provide an improvedsilverware basket for a dishwashing machine which, by a simple modification tothe conventional structure, gives the highly desirable result of preventing nesting or sliding of silverware pieces.

While I have shown and described one particular embodiment of my invention, I do not desire the invention to be limited to the precise construction disclosed, and I intend by the appended claim to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A silverware basket for use in dishwashers compris- (a) a substantially flat open framework base;

(b) side Walls extending up from said base and defining therewith a space for silverware;

(c) and a plurality of short projections secured to and extending upwardly from said base, said projections being closely spaced from each other so as to prevent nesting and sliding of silverware.

2. The article defined in claim 1 wherein saidprojec tions are in the form of spikes tapering upwardly from a relatively large dimension at their bases to a relatively small dimension at their tops.

3. The article defined in claim 1 wherein said projections are equally spaced the length and the width of said basket.

4. The article defined in claim 2 wherein the height of said projections is in the range between a quarter-inch and one inch, and thespacing of said projections is in the range or" one-eighth inch to one half inch.

5. The article defined in claim 1 wherein said basket is a molded part having said projections formed integrally therewith.

References Cited by the Examiner V UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,968,657 7/34 Stoddard 220-19 2,032,156 2/35 Stoddard 2lll81 2,299,610 10/42 Clark 206-72 2,712,826 7/55 Schleyer 220-19 2,839,214 6/ 5'8 Crane 22083 THERON E. coNDoN, Primary Examiner.

EARLEI. DRUMMOND, GEORGE O. RALSTON,

Examiners. 

1. A SILVERWARE BASKET FOR USE IN DISHWASHERS COMPRISING: (A) A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT OPEN FRAMEWORK BASE; (B) SIDE WALLS EXTENDING UP FROM SAID BASE AND DEFINING THEREWITH A SPACE FOR SILVERWARE; (C) AND A PLURALITY OF SHORT PROJECTIONS SECURED TO AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID BASE, SAID PROJECTIONS 